Tilting-furnace.



PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906.

J. G. GROMWELL. TILTING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.9.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

mmvtaxrwxa (Mi ya.

No. 823,669. PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906. J. o. GROMWELL. TILTING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED APB..9. 1906.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 3.

Win eased. ,lTweutai' I, to be subjected to 30 gas-ports.

v series of rollers journaled upon a supportingbase in a curved line corresponding to the UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. CROMWELL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GARRETT- CROMWELL ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A COR- PORATION OF OHIO.

TILTING FURNACE.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 1906.

' Application filed April 9, 1906. Serial 0. 310,624.

h State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tilting Furnaces,

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction for tilting furnaces, which is es ecially applicable to furnaces of the openearth type, which receive their as and air supply from the ends, but

it is a so of utility in connection with any tilting1 metallurgical furnace which -is designe to hold large masses of material and v iigh temperature.

The problem of mounting tiltin metallurgical furnaces has been approache from sev- 2o eral sides and various solutions have been 2 5 One of the most familiar types of tiltin furnace is that which is provided with a curve 7 bearin at each end of the bottom of the furnace, t 1e bearing being curved on a radius drawn from a point about the center of the The furnace is supported by a curvature of the furnace-bearing, so that the tipping of the furnace would be accomplished 3 5 by causing it to rotate upon the said rollers.

This style of furnace is exceedingly defective by reason of the fact that the curvature of the base constantly changes owing ,to the expansion caused by the heat, with the result 0 that the furnace-bearings will be at times supported by only two of the rollers and the weight and strains thus concentrated at points of the furnace and supporting-base, which were not contemplated in the original 5 design. Subsequent to the use of this type there was adopted a floating cradle composed of 'a series of rollers held together by curved rails in which they are journaled interposed between the curved bottom of the furnace 5e and the curved top of the supportingfounda-' This type of support is also subject to the above-described trouble, arising from ex-I tion.

pansion of the furnace when heated, in that the furnace bearing is altered,'and therefore concentrates its load upon only a few of the rollers of the floating cradle, thus distribut ing the strains along lines which cannot be properl allowed for in advance. Furthermore, t ese cradles are intendedto slip and slide between the furnace and the sup orting-foundation, but do not always m'ove ack and forth 'to the same extent, with the result that one is sometimes so far ahead of the other in its relative position that the one end of the furnace has to be jacked up, while the cradles are replaced in alinement with each other. A third old type of furnace known in the art is mounted on a supportin -frame beneath the base of the furnace, w 'ch frame has curvedl'oekers at each end, each rotatin on a pair of rollers journaled in a horizonta line on the top of a flat supporti -base. The ends of the'curved rockers exten considerably beyond the bottom of the furnace in order to allow for the pro er rotation, but such extensions are, as will e obvious, subjected to a eat brea strain when the furnace is tilted, so that the load is thrown thereon. Furthermore, these projections are quite awkward, being obviously in the way. Still another type of furnace is the type which rolls forward as it tilts and which, as distinguished from those previously mentioned, is provided with a curved base resting directly upon a horizontal foundation upon which it rolls back and forth, thus causing the entire furnace to move forward as it is tllted. This type is particularly objectionable by reason of it being necessary to roll it so far forward when the material is low that the gas-ports will pass entirely out of register with the conduit leading from the regenerator and even raised to the points where cold air from the outside rushes in and chills the furnace. Obviously no combustion can take place under these conditions. The manner in which I have mounted my tilting furnace is possessed of all of the advantages of the first three types which rotate about a definite center and is also possessed of the advantages of the last type in that there is no variation or shifting in the strains during use.

1 Referring to the accompanying drawings,

.fFigure 1 is a section, partly diagrammatic, taken about midwa of the furnace looking toward one end, as a ong line 1 1, Fig. 2. Fig.

2 represents a longitudinal section of one end of the furnace, showing certain parts in elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail of a bearing-Wheel mounted upon the trackway. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified support.

The furnace A is of the usual construction of the open-hearth type, having communication with the gas and air ports B B, leading from the regenerators, and is mounted upon a framework of girders O, suitably designed and proportioned to withstand the supporting strains in all positions inwhich the furnace ma be tilted. The girder-frame has at each en supporting-brackets C", in which are journaled rollers 0 adapted to ride upon the curved trackway D of the supporting-foundation. The curvature of this trackway is that of a circle having its centerabout the as and air ports aforesaid. It will be noted t f at this trackway has, beside the bearing or rolling surface upon which the su portin -rollers move, also. a se mental rac D 0 pro or length desi ned or use in connection with a motor mecanisrn upon the end of the furnace for the pur ose of tilting the same. The motor employe for this purpose is of any suitable type, but preferab y electric, and is swung in any convenient manner. I have shown the driving connection as that of a worm shaft E and Wheel E transmittin power from the motor E to gears, E E Whic .1: turn tran mit the power to, a cog E, meshing with the segmen al rack D before mentioned. This reduction device is very efficient for the purpose intended,.and the furnace is under absolutely perfect, and positive control in all positions. This furnace may obr.i'ously be rotated. about a given axis, which be thel-ine, assing-through the centers of curvature of t or two, supporting-rails, and it is, so designed that the shifting of the bath upon tilting will not disturb the state of stable equilibrium, the center of ravity being close to the axis of rotationl uring rotation the fuel-ports will not be exposed to the cold air, an. combustion may be continued at all ositions of'the furnace. It will be further no ed that no matter how the furnace may expand under the influence of heat the supporting-frame upon which it is mounted will alwa s, receive the thrusts along exactly the sameb'nes, so that the original design will be effective and not disclose weakness. under the changed conditions.

In conformance with the principle above set forth I have produced a modifie support ing structure, differing as to certain s ecific details,,whichls illustrated in Fi .4. n this form I have journaled short equa ing-beams. F instead of bearing-Wheels in the ends of' the furnace-frame C and have journaled wheels F" in each end of the saidbeams. Each beam and its Wheels. go to make up a single support which as a unit is j ournale in the end of the frame. It will be plain that the same principle obtains in this structure which is embodied in the form first described, since the expansion of the furnace due to heat will not alter the points of hearing or direction of thrust in any manner, and the frame will always hear the load exactly as it was designed to do. An advantage of this modified structure lies in the fact that a greater number of bearin -wheels may be employed, and, in the case of the exceedin ly large furnaces which I am enabled to procIuce from the broad principle of construction previously outlined, this is a matter of reat importance, since the crushin effect is d istributed among the several whee s which go to make up the individual supports. I have thus, owing to the maintenance of the conditions for which the furnace was designed, been enabled to construct furnaces of great dimensions with absolute certainty that they will hold together at all points in all positions. It is thought that with the combination of these advantages in one structure the problem of constructin heavy tilting furnaces has been satisfactori y solved in a manner which will permit of practically unlimited expansion in the way of an increase in size of open-hearth furnaces, which is in the present condition of the art of the greatest moment.

Having thus. described my invention, I claim 1. In combination, a tilting metallurgical furnace havin a frame, a curved supportingtrackway for t he furnace, each end of the furnace having journaled therein two supports which bear on said trackway.

2. In combination, a furnace adapted to rotate about a given axis having a frame hav ing two supports journaled at each end, a supporting-base having a fixed curved runway upon which said supports bear, and motor mechanism mounted on the furnace and adapted to rotate the same.

3. In combination, a tilting metallurgical furnace havin a frame, a curved supportingtrackway for t e furnace, each end of the furnace having j'ournaled therein two equalizingbeams which have two rollers journaled thereon and bearing on the trackway.

4. In combination, a tilting furnace, a curved trackway for the furnace, each end of the furnace having supports mounted thereon and riding upon said trackway in such manner as to be independent in their supporting function of the expansion of the furnace.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. CROMWELL.

Witnesses:

E B. GrLonmsr, J. B. WOODWARD. 

